Brrr!

(Delayed post of June 4 blog.)

The day started out with snow ... on the Fourth of June! It later warmed up a bit, but I’m tired of gray days! Time to go home to the land of sunshine!

Lots of Europeans in today ... Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Luxembourg and Holland. I commented on that to the Dutch guy; his response was one word: “Euro.” The exchange rate encourages their travel to the US.

Met a park ranger who was also a Northland College alumnus, though much later than me. Also had a visit from a high school classmate’s son and his family.

We’re ready to roll on out of here Thursday midday, so we had time for a walk around the Norris Geyser Basin area at sunset today. Stinky, but peaceful and fascinating ... brought the witches’ cauldron from “Macbeth” to mind (pic above). 

Correction to the flower identification I posted earlier: That’s a yellow fawn lily, according to the “National Audubon Society Field Guide to Flowers; Western Region.” Avalanche/glacier lilies are white, and this is definitely a bright yellow.

Tomorrow we hope to reach the Salt Lake City area, which will leave us with a fairly easy day’s drive back into Mancos. Once we reach West Yellowstone, we can check on cell-phone messages and buy a newspaper, and we’ll be able to post blogs and catch up on e-mail messages at the hotel tomorrow night. 

In a way, it’s been nice to be out here in the peace and quiet and woods and wildlife, but I’ve definitely felt cut off from information I wanted. Without Sirius radio in the car, I wouldn’t even have had the snatches of news I caught (driving back and forth to work) about the results of the last two primaries, the ongoing saga of the FLDS children, etc.

On a different level, I’ve realized how much I’ve come to rely on the Internet as an encyclopedic information resource. Our reference library at the Ranger Museum is very limited, and I’ve had a number of questions about the park that I couldn’t answer from those resources. The bookstore is a mile away, open the same hours I’m working at the museum. And, while I did buy the Audubon wildflower book, I don’t want to lay out $50-$100 for a full range of guidebooks just to answer a few specific questions. As an example, I’m expecting to find a range of answers on the Internet to my questions about the ridge on the pelican’s beak, whereas here I have found nothing in print and not gotten much information from the naturalists ... too esoteric a question. 

There’s quite a controversy in park circles, especially among us retirees (the old turkeys), about the value (or sinfulness, to some people) of allowing/using modern technology to deliver park information to visitors. This experience has brought home to me a key difference between the traditional park information environment and the environment that is increasingly commonplace for our visitors (especially the Gen Y group). The park information structure is relatively static, linear and park-controlled ... be here at this time and you can buy a book, see an exhibit, listen to a talk, take a walk, etc. The content is determined by park staff and presented in a linear fashion. Information on the Internet, in contrast, is much more dynamic, interactive, user-directed and multi-directional. Put another way, I know I could get in-depth information about any number of topics that have piqued my curiosity during this park experience, and I am frustrated that I am not able to pursue those questions and interests while I have the subject matter at hand. My learning experience would be enhanced by having my own, personal, interactive encyclopedia at hand, rather than having to go find someone who may or may not know the answers to my question, or who will give me pre-digested information in the form of a talk or exhibit.

Some of my young friends have talked about the importance of place-based education ... maybe I’m experiencing part of what they’re talking about. tv